FOXBORO — Near the end of Thursday's practice, Bill Belichick provided a nice little bonus for his defensive players.

They got two chances to play offense.

Neither went well.

The defense and offense swapped roles for two reps on the goal line, and two incompletions ensued. The defense pulled out a halfback pass on the first play, as Patrick Chung pitched the ball to Duron Harmon, who desperately heaved it into a crowded group that included Devin McCourty.

On the next try, Chung misfired for Eric Rowe in the flat.

“We had some plays, but obviously, the defense, they came ready,” Harmon said. “I think they rushed three and dropped eight, played zone. We had a couple man-beaters in there.”

Harmon identified where it all went wrong.

“We should have put Steph (Gilmore) at quarterback,” he said. “Steph played high school quarterback. He took a couple snaps at Wildcat at South Carolina, but he wanted to play receiver.”

Present but not participating: WR Malcolm Mitchell (lower field for conditioning), CB Keion Crossen (lower field for conditioning)

PUP: WR Kenny Britt, CB Cyrus Jones, CB Jonathan Jones, S Nate Ebner

NOTES

**Drew Rosenhaus, the agent for TE Rob Gronkowski, was on hand Thursday. Rosenhaus caught up with Robert Kraft and Nick Caserio after practice. Aside from Gronkowski, Rosenhaus also represents TE Dwayne Allen, OT Trent Brown, and WR Braxton Berrios.

**RB Mike Gillislee wore the red non-contact jersey and abstained from team drills. He said he hopes to be full contact by tomorrow. Gillislee missed practices on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday.

**OL Jason King suffered a leg injury during practice and did not return.

**CB Jason McCourty saw a few reps opposite CB Eric Rowe. The Pats gave CB Stephon Gilmore a breather during 11-on-11s late in the practice.

**Trey Flowers, Deatrich Wise, Adam Butler, Lawrence Guy, Danny Shelton, Malcom Brown, and Adrian Clayborn all appear to be part of the team's defensive line rotation.

HIGHLIGHTS

**WR Cordarrelle Patterson pulled down an obscene one-handed catch along the sideline versus CB Jason McCourty in 1-on-1s. The ball was thrown high and fast — it appeared to be a back shoulder throw from Brady — and Patterson reached up and snatched it with his right hand.

During 11-on-11s, Patterson ran past the entire secondary for a long touchdown on a post route. S Jordan Richards was the closest defender, but he had no chance. Patterson tossed the ball into the ground as he reached the end zone and raised both arms to tell the crowd(?) to get loud.

**Really strong practice from WR Phillip Dorsett, who pulled in several contested catches. He beat CB Ryan Lewis on a deep corner route, and later fended off CB Eric Rowe on a deep in-breaking route. Dorsett, who caught only 12 passes despite playing nearly 400 snaps last season, looks to have made significant strides this summer. This was probably his best practice of camp.

**LB Kyle Van Noy has enjoyed a strong camp, too. Van Noy has stood out in coverage, and that was the case again on Thursday. He broke up a Tom Brady pass on a back shoulder throw in the end zone for TE Jacob Hollister.

**During 11-on-11s, Clayborn would have had a sack against Tom Brady. LB Dont'a Hightower could've had a sack on another rep. Brady thread the needle between S Devin McCourty and S Duron Harmon to find RB James White down the field on the play.